A Shadow of the Past
by Ersatz Writer
Summary: Edgeworth had changed. Phoenix hadn't. The contrast sickens both of them. Takes place in AA Case 2.


**A/N:** So, I recently got the Ace Attorney Trilogy on the iPad, so am enjoying my millionth replay of this awesome series, picking up on every little P/E moment left and right. And this is one of those subtle moments. The first time we meet Edgeworth outside of the courtroom. I decided to do my own little take. Oh the angst! The forbidden love! The drama!

No seriously, I love this sort of thing. :P I'm just trying to remind myself how much I love Ace Attorney.

**Ace Attorney belongs to Capcom and Shuu Takumi**

Please enjoy reading! I know I've written very similar things before, but what can I say? Pre-Heel Face Turn Edgeworth fascinates me no end.

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There was still a difference, Edgeworth noticed, from standing opposite someone in court to standing face to face with the one man he did not ever want to see again.

Phoenix Wright had grown. Matured. His face was sharp and angled where once in Edgeworth's memory they had been round and baby-ish. His hair had been slicked back with evident care. A little less disheveled now, a little more professional. Yet despite all those physical changes, his eyes remained the same. Large, clear, and so hopelessly, foolishly optimistic. Beneath the growing exterior was still a boy who didn't understand the ways of the world.

Edgeworth saw him from afar, talking to a girl. She was short, with dark long hair cascading down her shoulders and purple, flowing robes. Yesterday's defendant. The prosecutor felt his lips twist into a grimace; he was still unconvinced of her innocence. After all, to believe in such a thing would be conceding defeat, and Edgeworth had been carefully avoiding that word for four years. No, regardless of his personal feelings, she was not his target. Not today.

Still, it was she who spotted him first, and with a small shriek of wide-eyed surprise. "N-Nick!" She cried, ducking swiftly in the safety behind the defence attorney. "Look!"

'Nick' did so, brows arched in a skepticism that abruptly froze on his face as soon as he saw the prosecutor heading in his direction.

Edgeworth felt his own lips twisting into a grim line - he'd hoped to make a subtle entrance. Nevertheless, with the situation as it is, he abandoned all pretence of a quiet approach and opened his mouth as soon as he was within hearing distance. "I received a call from the Chief Prosecutor yesterday," he stated, without beating about the bush. "I presume you are aware of the extent of White's influence?"

Wright merely pursed his lips. There was something apprehensive in his eyes when he looked at the prosecutor. Like a child conducting his first science experiment, he didn't seem to know what to do.

Edgeworth continued, regardless. "His testimony," he said, flatly, "will be perfect." The final word made him feel almost physically ill. "And if I raise any objections, I have it in good faith that the judge will listen to what I say." His brows furrowed and he glared into the other man's eyes. _Do you truly know what you're up against, Wright? _

Evidently, judging by the startled dropping of his jaw, he didn't. "Th-The Judge, too?" he gasped, perhaps without even intending to speak aloud.

Somewhere deep inside, another Edgeworth was hurt by the implication behind the other's words. On the surface, however, the prosecutor was corresponding perfectly. "I will win by any means possible, Wright." Was all he said, and each syllable with punctuated with practiced conviction. "Any."

_There's no way you can win Wright. You _will _be found guilty. _

Do you understand?

The stupid oaf only stared blankly at him, and it was in fact the girl who burst out first. "How can you say that?" She cried, brown eyes sparkling with indignation. "Th-That's...! That's inhuman! How can you do that to an innocent man?"

He glanced at her indifference. It was the first time he had lain eyes on her. All he saw was another murderer. "I have no way of knowing who is innocent, Ms. Fey, and who is guilty." The words were the response to her question, but his eyes were drawn only upon Wright. Making sure he understood. Making sure that he held no further illusions of the boy who had aspired to be like his father. "People lie in this world; the guilty will never admit to their sins. Therefore, the only thing I can do is to find every defendant guilty." He looked into Wright's eyes - too blue, too clear. Too clean. He could see his own dark, lifeless orbs reflected within.

"That is my policy." He heard himself saying.

_I believe only in your guilt. _

The girl looked horrified, and Wright stared at him with an alien, distant glint in his eyes.

"You've changed, Edgeworth," he murmured, disappointment - and it was disappointment - clouding his tone. A tremble shivered through his lips, and for a moment he looked as though he wanted to say more, but couldn't.

Edgeworth found his eyes drawn towards the golden badge resting upon the other attorney's lapel. Suddenly, he felt sick.

Thankfully, the girl responded before he could. "Whaaaaaat?!" She exclaimed, in a ridiculously loud volume, and jabbed a finger rudely in his direction. "You _knew_ him, Nick?"

Wright merely folded his arms. "I did," he replied, bitterness faint yet definite within his voice.

Edgeworth felt his jaw clench, though there was no wavering in his gaze. "Don't expect any special treatment, Phoenix Wright." He gritted out, and turned abruptly to leave. _As if I would treat you any differently. _There was no reason to. Not anymore. Not now. This man would not be an exception to the policy he had worked so hard to maintain.

As he exited he knew the defence attorney was watching him. He felt those clear blue orbs boring into his back long after the defendant lobby had turned out of sight. Even when he had left it far away behind him, the image of Wright's face kept replaying in his mind. 'I did', echoed his voice, fraught with bitterness and disappointment. Quivering with unspoken words.

Without any sense of purpose or direction he walked until he was alone. Until finally, finally, he could allow himself to shake, succumbing to the bone rattling chill that spread through his chest like fingers until his lungs were tight and he was gasping for air.

Guilty. _Guilty. _

Blindly he stumbled to the bathroom stalls and ran his hands under the tap, splashing the cool water over his face until he could regain his composure. He felt too cold, too numb. It was disgusting. Staring into his own wretched, dripping features, he had to clap a hand over his mouth to stop himself from heaving.

And the cold water slid down from his face. In the mirror, they looked like his tears which had ran dry several years ago.

He stood still for a long time, collecting himself. Hands gripping the sides of the sink, he bowed his head and told himself firmly, just as he did every morning, that he would do anything for a guilty verdict.

He told himself that he would no longer let his emotions sidetrack him.

He told himself that Phoenix Wright was guilty.

He told himself that he would feel no remorse for a man who had ceased to mean anything to him.

And, by the time the bailiffs had summoned him to court, Miles Edgeworth was the Demon Attorney once more.

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**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Reviews are love~


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